DC/10: The Power Of Vine

Well, obviously we're doing awesome: $2839 raised, 2427 students helped, and…it's not telling me how many projects completed, so I'll have to get back to you. I do know we polished off a project for one Mrs. Radway, which is fitting. Awesome job!

And! An Ask The Readers challenge from Reader Daisy! Find the book(s) and she'll donate to the projects of your choice!

If someone comes up with the answer to either of these ridiculously vague stumpers, I'll give $25 to the project of their choice. That's $50 total. If some completely amazing human can answer both, I'll give $75 to the project of their choice.

In both cases, I remember just one scene from each book. Here they are:

#1: In this book, there was a child (a boy, I think) who had itchy bumps between his fingers, and he was always looking for places to secretly scratch them without his parents seeing and telling him to knock it off. He liked tree bark for this problem, but his very favorite was lace curtains. This could have been fiction, but I think it was a memoir. I think the scene happened early in the book. I read this in the '90s.

#2: I think this was also a memoir, but am not positive. In this one, the narrator had a hearing problem and she (I think it was a female) was worried it was serious, it would be permanent, etc. Then at some point, she was relieved to learn it was just tinnitus. I remember this vividly because I was just a kid and had never heard of that before. I remember her exclaiming something like, "Tinnitus! Just tinnitus!" I'm pretty sure I read this in the '80s. I was young, but it could have been an adult book that my parents had.

Follow up for MJ: In addition to the nonfiction piece you mentioned, looks like Updike also wrote a short story on the same topic. They were both published in the New Yorker 30-40 years ago. I am attempting to interlibrary-loan copies, so it will take me a few days to get back to you. Thanks again.

Hi MJ! I just finished Jody yesterday and am sorry to say it wasn't the book. (It was 1980-tastic, though, in that sad teen series way, so I was glad to have read it.)

Since you have put in so much effort on both of my requests, I would like to donate $25 to the project of your choice anyway, even though you didn't quite nail them. What would you like me to donate to?